Description of sounds

Sound Description by Meibis M. González

Consonants and vowel sounds are described in the same way they are classified. Because of this, the following information deals with both vowel and consonant sounds.

Vowels and Consonants• Humans produce speech sounds that

are either vowels or consonants. • Vowels and consonants have a different

form of obstruction. That is, vowels are relatively unobstructed in the oral cavity, whereas consonants are produced with a complete or

partial obstruction of the airstream in the oral cavity.

Organs of Speech

Organs of Speech (another view)

Vowel Sounds

• Vowels are classified according to 1. Height 2. Backness 3. Tenseness 4. Rounding

Note: All vowels are voiced

Description of Vowel Sounds

1. Height (high, mid, and low)2. Backness (front, central,

and back)3. Tenseness (tense or lax)4. Rounding (round or spread-

unround)

Vowel Chart

Note: the “schwa” sound is located as low central for some authors. Also, the /a/ sound is located as low back for some authors

Consonant Sounds

• They are classified according to 1. Voicing (voiced- voiceless)2. Place of Articulation3. Manner of Articulation

Important: They are described following the same order above.

Place of Articulation1. Bilabials2. Labiodentals3. Interdental4. Alveolars5. Alveo-palatals ****6. Palatals7. Velars8. Glottals

Manner of Articulation

• It refers to how the sound is produced and the way in which the airstream is modified as it passes through the vocal track

Manner of Articulation

1. Stops2. Fricatives3. Affricates4. Sibilants5. Sonorants and Obstruents6. Liquids7. Nasals8. Glides

Stops

• In producing them, the air is stopped in the mouth and then released immediately.– They can be: (voiceless, voiced) Bilabial Stops /p/, /b/

• Alveolar Stops /t/, /d/• Velar Stops /k/, /g/

Fricatives

• Sounds produced by allowing the air to pass through a small passage, thereby producing friction.

Fricatives

• They are classified as:– Labio-dental fricative /f/ /v/– -Inter-dental

fricative / / / / - Glottal fricative /h/ - Alveolar fricative /s/ /z/ -Palatal fricatives / / /

Africates

It has both a stop and a fricative manner of production. The two sounds are produced so rapidly that they are heard as a unit.The two sounds in this category are: alveo-palatal sounds / / and / / The first sound is voiceless

The second sound is voiced

Nasals

• The velum is lowered so that sounds pass through the nose rather than through the mouth. The oral cavity is completely closed. All nasals are voiced.

• They are divided as–1. Bilabial Nasal /m/–2. Alveolar Nasal /n/–3. Velar Nasal / /

Liquids

• The alveolar lateral /l/ is produced by pressing the tongue against the alveolar ridge and letting the sound pass through the sides of the tongue.

Retroflex

• The retroflex /r/ is produced by letting the sound pass between the hard palate and the slightly rolled tip of the tongue

Semivowels or Glides

It is characterized by a continued, gliding motion of the articulators into the following vowel. They are also considered as semi-vowels

Bilabial Glide /w/

Palatal Glide / j /

Consonant Chart

• Important:

• Alveolo-palatal (or alveo-palatal) which have simultaneous alveolar and palatal articulation.

• In the official IPA chart, alveo-palatals would appear between the alveolar and palatal consonants

For instance, in describing /l/, the feature lateral is enough to describe this sound because /l/ is the only lateral sound existing in English

When describing a sound or a group of sounds, you should only include the features that are required to describe that particular sound or that particular group of sounds